LOUISVILLE, KENTUCKY // Drosselmeyer, the former Belmont Stakes champion, scored a spectacular upset in the US$5 million (Dh18.3m) Breeders' Cup Classic, while delivering a much-needed dose of redemption for jockey Mike Smith.
Smith, who suffered a gut-wrenching defeat at the wire in last year's Classic aboard Zenyatta, piloted Drosselmeyer past the celebrated field in a dramatic stretch run to win America's richest race.
Drosselmeyer, the 2010 Belmont winner who had fallen off form this year with just one win in six starts, finished one and one-half lengths ahead of Game on Dude, ridden by Smith's ex-girlfriend Chantal Sutherland.
Ruler on Ice finished third in the 12-horse field at the 28th edition of the Breeders' Cup, held on a beautiful day at the historic Churchill Downs.
Drosselmeyer was 10th after a mile and seventh at the top of the stretch before finding another gear, a style much like Zenyatta.
"I felt very confident," said Smith, a Hall of Fame jockey whose victory was his 15th at the Breeders' Cup, tying him with Jerry Bailey for most all-time.
"I know it's kind of hard to say when you're way back there last, but it was kind of Zenyatta-like, as far as the ones that she won. He felt confident. He was in a great rhythm.
"He was breathing. He was doing everything I asked him to do. Going into the far turn, he took a deep breath, and I knew he was loaded again."
Drosselmeyer, who only prior victory in 2011 was at a US$60,000 race at Belmont Park.
"He ran a super race," said Drosselmeyer trainer Bill Mott, who won the Breeders' Cup Ladies' Classic on Friday with Royal Delta. "He was mowing them down the last eighth of a mile.
"I guess his biggest attribute is his stamina, and he showed it today. When they were wearing down, he was coming. It's great."
Jockey Club Gold Cup champion Flat Out, the race favourite, finished fifth in the mile and one-quarter race with Alex Solis in the saddle.
The champion mare Havre de Grace, looking to follow the trailblazing path of Zenyatta as the only females to win the Classic, finished fourth but was never in contention.
Uncle Mo, last year's Juvenile champion who was on the comeback trail after suffering a life-threatening liver ailment in the spring, was second for most of the race before fading to 10th.
"The track started breaking underneath him a little bit and he kind of lost it," said Uncle Mo jockey John Velazquez. "He was struggling with the track for whatever reason.
"I tried to give him his head where he would feel comfortable, but he never really got into a good rhythm to get a good grip of the track.
"I didn't want to beat him up in the stretch when everybody started going by me."
Smith won the Classic aboard Zenyatta in 2009 but last year, with the late-running mare looking to retire unbeaten, she was edged at the wire by Blame, reducing Smith to tears.
After Saturday's triumph with Drosselmeyer, Smith was asked how long it took for him to get over the loss in Zenyatta's final race.
"Until now," he said. "I mean, that's one that will always hurt, but this sure helps, man. It really does."
Formula Middle East Calendar (Formula Regional and Formula 4)
Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai
Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 5: February 25-27, Jeddah Corniche Circuit – Saudi Arabia
Ziina users can donate to relief efforts in Beirut
Ziina users will be able to use the app to help relief efforts in Beirut, which has been left reeling after an August blast caused an estimated $15 billion in damage and left thousands homeless. Ziina has partnered with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees to raise money for the Lebanese capital, co-founder Faisal Toukan says. “As of October 1, the UNHCR has the first certified badge on Ziina and is automatically part of user's top friends' list during this campaign. Users can now donate any amount to the Beirut relief with two clicks. The money raised will go towards rebuilding houses for the families that were impacted by the explosion.”
If you go…
Emirates launched a new daily service to Mexico City this week, flying via Barcelona from Dh3,995.
Emirati citizens are among 67 nationalities who do not require a visa to Mexico. Entry is granted on arrival for stays of up to 180 days.
From Europe to the Middle East, economic success brings wealth - and lifestyle diseases
A rise in obesity figures and the need for more public spending is a familiar trend in the developing world as western lifestyles are adopted.
One in five deaths around the world is now caused by bad diet, with obesity the fastest growing global risk. A high body mass index is also the top cause of metabolic diseases relating to death and disability in Kuwait, Qatar and Oman – and second on the list in Bahrain.
In Britain, heart disease, lung cancer and Alzheimer’s remain among the leading causes of death, and people there are spending more time suffering from health problems.
The UK is expected to spend $421.4 billion on healthcare by 2040, up from $239.3 billion in 2014.
And development assistance for health is talking about the financial aid given to governments to support social, environmental development of developing countries.
A MINECRAFT MOVIE
Director: Jared Hess
Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa
Rating: 3/5
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
Election pledges on migration
CDU: "Now is the time to control the German borders and enforce strict border rejections"
SPD: "Border closures and blanket rejections at internal borders contradict the spirit of a common area of freedom"
MATCH INFO
South Africa 66 (Tries: De Allende, Nkosi, Reinach (3), Gelant, Steyn, Brits, Willemse; Cons: Jantjies 8)
Canada 7 (Tries: Heaton; Cons: Nelson)
